Everton sit seventh in the Premier League table, seven points adrift off a top-four spot, while the reigning champions trail leaders Manchester United by 12 points.

"Teams come here and they can shut up shop," Moyes the club's official website. "You have got to break them down but you tend to find that the better teams will have a go and it will make for a bit more of an open game.

"I can't for a minute see Manchester City coming here and thinking that they have got to stop Everton. They will look to try and win.

"I've got to say that every game we play at Goodison we look to win – that doesn't alter whoever we play. We'll have a big job stopping them and we have to go and make sure that we take our opportunities."

However, City will be hoping their hosts are still caught in the doldrums after being knocked out of the FA Cup in a 3-0 defeat to Wigan but Moyes said that, if past history was any guide, the form book could be thrown out the window.

"I think we're playing a really good team and this would be a hard game no matter if you were in great form or not," he said. "We were in really good form when we went to the Etihad earlier in the season and we got a really good draw. We did okay on the day but it was a very hard game.

"But I could also say that on the last day of January last year at Goodison we beat them with a team which included Tony Hibbert playing centre-half and Denis Stracqualursi up front.

"We had a completely different team then and won. So we've done it before and hopefully we'll do it again."